Question: Living with lung cancer is expensive. What resources are available to help pay for day-to-day needs?

Answer:

Paying for treatment is a concern for most people who are diagnosed with lung cancer. Luckily, there are programs and resources available that can help lessen the financial burden of living with the disease.

  • Ask for help at your treatment center. The social worker or financial navigator at your hospital or cancer center is a good resource for connecting you with local financial resources including help for transportation and living expenses.
  • Several nonprofit organizations and foundations offer co-pay assistance programs or help with medical expenses: FundFinder, Cancer Care, Good Days, Health Well, PAN Foundation, the Patient Advocacy Foundation, the Assistance Fund.
  • Some large pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs you are treated with offer financial assistance programs or coupons to help to pay for their products. Find out who makes the drugs you take and call them to ask if they offer support.
  • Medicare offers free navigation services through a program called SHIP (State Health Insurance Program) which offers trained navigators in your state who can help you understand which Medicare programs might be appropriate for you.
  • The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has certified application counselors who can help you understand plan benefits and choose the right one for you.
  • Medicare offers prescription drug coverage called “catastrophic coverage” which goes into effect once you’ve reached a certain level of spending on medications. Once you reach that point, the cost of your medications is reduced significantly. With the high cost of some oral lung cancer medications like targeted therapies, you can reach this coverage level very quickly.
  • Contact 211 for information about rental and utility assistance programs in your area.
  • GO2’s Lung Cancer Living Room featuring Clara Lambert from TAILORMED details how to finance your lung cancer treatment.
  • GO2’s HelpLine can help you to find additional financial support by calling 1-800-298-2436.

In each issue of Your Community, we will be answering your questions about lung cancer and/or GO2 programs and services, questions about screening, treatment types and advancements, clinical trials, support services, and the lung cancer community. Please email your questions to yourcommunity@go2.org.

Please note that the information included in any published answers is for educational pursuit only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult their healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation. Nothing from GO2 for Lung Cancer should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a medical opinion.